Google Nexus One Moves to Retail as Google Plans to Change Availability of Device.

Google initiated sales of its own-brand Nexus One mobile phone in January in the U.S., but while the device became accepted among technology-savvy customers, it failed to become popular among general users of smartphones. In order to make Nexus One more accepted on the market, Google intends to start selling it via retail channels, not via its Internet store.

“As with every innovation, some parts worked better than others. While the global adoption of the Android platform has exceeded our expectations, the web store has not. It is remained a niche channel for early adopters, but it’s clear that many customers like a hands-on experience before buying a phone, and they also want a wide range of service plans to chose from,” said Andy Rubin, vice president of engineering at Google.

Google has decided the following:

More retail availability. As Google makes Nexus One available in more countries the company plans to follow the same model it has adopted in Europe, where the search giant is working with partners to offer Nexus One to consumers through existing retail channels.

From retail to viewing. Once Google has increased the availability of Nexus One devices in stores, it intends to stop selling handsets via the web store, and will instead use it as an online store window to showcase a variety of Android phones available globally.

Innovation requires constant iteration. We believe that the changes we're announcing today will help get more phones to more people quicker, which is good for the entire Android ecosystem: users, partners and also Google.